Add These To Your Calendar

We have great new shows to announce!

Ms. Lauryn Hill (at The Ritz Ybor) - March 23 - tickets on sale now
Doors open at 9 p.m.
Chanteuse, rapper, songwriter, actress, activist and mother, Ms. Lauryn Hill began her career with The Fugees, a hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. She embarked on a solo career: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2006).

The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was universally acclaimed by critics and earned her an incredible five Grammys: Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best New Artist, and Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for hit single "Doo Wop (That Thing)". The Miseducation ... has also gone on to sell around 18 million copies worldwide.

http://www.strazcenter.org/Events/1011-Music/LaurynHill.aspx

Pawn Stars - May 14 - tickets on sale now
You’ve seen them on the History Channel’s #1 show with more than 7 million viewers each week, PAWN STARS and now it’s your chance to meet Rick, Corey and Chumlee in person! Entertainment Events, Inc presents The Pawn Stars Gold & Silver Road Show. After you have purchased tickets to the show, send us a picture of your collectable items to pawn@entertainmentevents.com and if you hear back from us, you may be selected to bring your item to the show and negotiate directly with the PAWN STARS! The guys are bringing $500,000 to each show in purchasing power! During the live show, you might be picked to play the Pawn Stars' version of The Price is Right or Are You Smarter Than a Chumlee? Get your tickets now to the History Channel’s Pawn Stars Gold & Silver Road Show, the only show of its kind.

http://www.strazcenter.org/Events/1011-Theater---Comedy/PawnStars.aspx

Cake Boss - June 3 - tickets on sale Sunday, March 20
Celebrity baker Buddy Valastro comes to Tampa for an evening of cakes, stories, and fun. In this rare live, interactive event, TLC's Cake Boss' will share stories behind his hit series and his colorful Italian family, answer audience questions, and give a live demonstration of the techniques that have made him one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the nation. Buddy has a big personality, and an even bigger heart! Bring the whole family for a night with the Cake Boss.

http://www.strazcenter.org/Events/1011-Theater---Comedy/CakeBoss.aspx

Tracy Morgan - June 4 - tickets on sale Friday, March 18
Morgan’s past “SNL” characters include Astronaut Jones, Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet, Bronx resident Dominican Lou, Reggie Owens of “Wong and Owens: Ex-Porn Stars,” “Good Morning With Liza!” sidekick Captain Munclair Vanderhousen III, Tate Witherspoon of the tough-talking law firm Russell & Tate, Uncle Jemima’s Mash Liquor and “Judge Judy” bailiff Bert. He was also in the 2008 movie First Sunday with Ice Cube, Cop Out with Bruce Willis and Death at a Funeral with Chris Rock.

Apart from being a stand-out cast member on Saturday Night Live, Morgan contributed to the hilarious Comedy Central (and now MTV) series named Crank Yankers. Morgan plays a character from the inner city named Spoonie Luv.

Morgan is currently starring on the hit TV series 30 Rock. Morgan plays an almost-crazy (ironic?) TV star named Tracy Jordan. Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon spends most of her time trying to keep Tracy Jordan out of trouble and on track. Seeing that 30 Rock is loosely based on the backstage antics at Saturday Night Live, it’s a wonder that Morgan’s character has a different last name at all.

http://www.strazcenter.org/Events/1011-Theater---Comedy/TracyMorgan.aspx

Celtic Thunder - October 13 - tickets on sale Friday, March 18
Following the success of their last four shows, the new Celtic Thunder show Heritage accentuates the musical culture of Ireland. Celtic Thunder features performances by fan-favorites Damian McGinty, Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, George Donaldson and the newest member of the ensemble, Emmet Cahill. Delivering stirring and show-stopping performances, Celtic Thunder returns to their distinct Irish roots with this inspired collection of songs, including the sweet and tranquil "Kindred Spirits", the rousing jig, "A Place In The Choir", the seductive “Black Is The Color,” and the upbeat "Whiskey In The Jar," to name a few.

Celtic Thunder had the distinct honor of performing for President Obama at The White House’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration in 2009, and they also opened New York City’s famed St. Patrick’s Day Parade on 5th Avenue two consecutive years in a row (2008 & 2009). They have also performed on the Today Show, CBS Early Show’s Saturday Second Cup Café, and numerous regional shows in major cities across America. Of their live performances, The Virginian-Pilot noted, “no matter what they tackle they do it with ‘beaucoup’ energy” and The New York Times described the group as “a Fab Five peddling Celtic stylings.”

http://www.strazcenter.org/Events/1112_Music/CelticThunder.aspx

New and interesting Broadway shows in the making ...

Spider Sense is coming to Broadway in 2009. I've been hearing rumor of a Broadway version of Spiderman for some years now. Seems it's firmly slated to go up in 2009. Directed by Julie Taymor (of Lion King fame) and music by Bono and The Edge ... it's sure to be a phenomenon.

And on a much more obscure note -- although no date has been set for opening, the Brett Easton Ellis novel American Psycho is also planning a stage adaptation of this vicious social satire. I have to say, I'm already looking forward to that one.

- summer b

Cheech and Chong light up TBPAC on 9/28

Cheech and Chong come to TBPAC's Morsani Hall on 9/28 with their Light Up America ... tour.

Onsale information:
Music Today and Tier 1 TBPAC donors: 8/26 at 12n
Tier 2 TBPAC donors: 8/27 at 12n
General public: 8/29 at 4:20pm

Tickets are $39.50 and $59.50.

This show was just added to a whole slate of great stand-up comedians and spoken word artists coming up at the end of Sept./start of oct. including:

Margaret Cho - 9/25
Henry Rollins - 9/29
Lewis Black - 10/3
Joel McHale - 10/4

Breaking News: Wicked's Idina Menzel booked 7/27

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Idina Menzel will play Ferguson Hall on Sun., July 27, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $38.50 and will go on sale to her fan club, TBPAC donors and TBPAC Broadway Series season ticket holders on June 24 at noon. The show will go on sale to the general public on Fri., June 27 at noon.


Idina Menzel originated the role of the green-skinned Elphaba in the blockbuster Wicked, which won her a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She's also very well known from her portrayal of Maureen in the Broadway and film versions of RENT.

Since this show is in our more intimate 1,042-seat Ferguson Hall, we recommend you get your tickets when they go on sale to ensure you get a seat!

New show: Taylor Swift

Country superstar Taylor Swift will play Carol Morsani Hall on Jan. 26, 2008. Tickets went on sale today at noon to TBPAC donors, and will go on public sale Friday at noon. Call 813.229.STAR or log on to TBPAC.ORG to nab those tickets while they last.


Want to get them now? Check out how over here.

From Florida to Broadway?

We often use this space to talk about shows coming down here from Broadway, but sometimes things work the other way. Once upon a time, struggling Steppenwolf Theater movers-and-shakers John Malcovich and Gary Sinise mounted a production of True West in their native Chicago before it ended up in New York. That obviously worked out pretty well for all involved. A lot of other big musicals are workshopped outside the Great White Way before paying Manhattan cost of living.

Angela L. passed a story on to me this morning which talks about a show being commissioned at Sarasota's own Asolo Theater, which may have a fast track to the Big Apple - a Les Mis-style treatment of Copperfield's A Tale of Two Cities. Look for that production to open Oct. 13.

Can't wait that long to see a new show with local origination? Jobsite Theater, resident theater company here at TBPAC, is staging a brand-new version of the quirky romantic comedy The March of the Kitefliers,which opens March 29. Jobsite is inviting theater and film professionals to opening weekend performances in an attempt to give this play, which played a sold-out four-week run to standing ovations and critical acclaim in 2005 as an original works project, a life far beyond Tampa.

Check out both shows, then once they've gone huge you can say "you saw it when ..."

-dj

(Disclosure: I am the producing artistic director for Jobsite Theater, as well as a castmember of Kitefliers.)